16" Izzy is done and done.

 It feels to be back to doll making!  The minis have sold well, except for the boys.  Note to self:  apparently doll collectors want girl dolls.  Poor fellas.

The hubby had to go out of town for a week of work, and I made it a goal to start and finish one regular size Izannah Walker doll.  I did it!  So I can say that I have managed to streamline things and it takes approximately 40 hours to make one, with hand finishing and such.  This one kind of looks like my cousin Valerie as a child.  So that's what I call her.  It's likely not a 19th century name, but who's counting? 

Here are photos of her.  I won't make any more til she sells, or else I'll be up to my eyebrows in Izzies.  But I will start making more of the "weird" dolls that are so fun (and less labor intensive). 

Cheers!

 

Teeny Izzies are DONE.

 They're finished, and listed on Etsy now.  I'm ready to work on larger dolls, but in a sick kinda way I'm glad I got back into it with these--the rest will seem so easy by comparison!

I've got chores to do, so I'll be quick here.  Just a lot of photos.  The dolls are about 7.5" tall, just about the length of my hand.  Each carries a...something.  They seem to vary in age, based on their expressions and dress, I guess, but that was not intentional. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope your weekend is wonderful!

"...back in the saddle again."

 Okay, back in the studio, for real this time.  Not just making curtains--although I still have plenty of those to make for the winter. 

No--I'm making dolls again!  Feels good, too.  This first set was probably not the thing to start with, but I had already cut and stitched together the wee body parts, and the heads were started, so...

I finished sculpting, stuffed the parts, and applied the heads.  Painting is one of my favorite parts, next to the sculpting, because those bring the personalities out.  I don't aim for a particular face/features/expression.  I just wait to see who shows up.  I don't know if that's lazy or creative, and don't care.  It's fun! 

So these are miniature Izannah Walker style dolls--about 71/2 " or so.  Their clothing is sewn on, because I'm not doing buttons or snaps on that tiny of a doll--I can do it, and would sort of enjoy the challenge, but nobody wants to pay for that kind of detail. 

They charm me, with their petite little selves, even the attitudinal ones, and they make sweet "doll's dolls" in the lap of big antiques (see Mary Nell for example.)

Two of them have sold and will head off to Florida next week sometime.  They all have names, but I try to leave that out of Etsy listings, because collectors tend to like naming them.  Works for me--I do it too, when I buy a doll. 

So, without further ado, here are the Mini Izzies. (Click on the first pic for a slide show.)

And may I never make another, 

because cross-eyed is not a good look for me. 

 

 

Mary Nell, a mini from 2014, with a 27" antique Greiner.

Four more to dress, six for "glamour shots" and Etsy listings, then on to the larger ones.  

Hope October is treating everyone well this year.  Cheers!